Droppable flexible container with stabilizer



Jan. 25, 1955 F. W. STAVELY DROPPABLE FLEXIBLE CONTAINER WITH STABILIZER Filed April 18-, 1952 a i wmfi United States Patent DROPPABLE FLEXIBLE CONTAINER WITH STABILIZER Frederick Walter Stavely, Akron, Ohio, assiguor to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 18, 1952, Serial No. 283,087

1 Claim. (Cl. 244138) The present invention relates to droppable containers and more specifically to a stabilizer for controlling the free fall of containers to the ground from airplanes at a low altitude.

The advent of the airplane has provided a means for supplying places remote from sources of supply with materials which are needed. During wartime, small units of troops cut off from the main body of troops are supplied by dropping food, ammunition, and fuel from lowflying aircraft. In peacetime, during severe conditions of weather such as flood and snow storm, the airplane has been used to drop supplies to isolated farms and communities.

In making low-altitude drops from airplanes, especially drops into valleys or into small pockets of troops surrounded by the enemy, it is not practical to use parachutes. Containers of necessities dropped by parachute are blown away from their target by wind or may be caught on some projecting piece of ground or tree before falling to thos who require provisioning.

In order to drop liquids and some other types of material from airplanes flying at low altitudes, an all-rubber disc-shaped container has come into use. These containers are flexible flat hollow discs containing usually 2 to 5 gallons of a liquid but may contain more. The shape of these containers is disc-like so that bounce will be reduced and the structure of the container itself will not be destroyed because of its landing on a projecting corner.

Increased flotation during free fall is attained with this shape with less damage on impact with the ground.

A disadvantage of using such a disc-shaped container is that on being released from altitudes of 500 feet and up, such containers will drift away from the line of flight of the airplane. Such drift reduces the accuracy with which the material may be dropped to a spot on the ground. The reduction of this tendency to drift is the result to which this invention is directed.

It is therefore an object of this invention to reduce the drift away from the line of flight of the airplane of objects dropped therefrom. It is also the object of this invention to provide a container which may be accurately dropped into a small area from a low-flying airplane. A further object of this invention is to provide a disc-shaped container which will be stabilized in its falling characteristics.

According to the invention, these objects and others have been obtained by attaching a stabilizing element such as a streamer or a cloth to the center of the disc container.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood as the description unfolds.

2,700,517 Patented Jan. 25, 1955 "Ice Reference is made to the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of a disc-shaped container embodying the stabilizer which is the feature of this invention.

In reference to the drawing, a disc-shaped flexible container is generally indicated at 1. Handles 2 and 3 adapt the container for easy carrying. A valve 5 is provided for introducing or dispensing fuel and other liquids. The center of the container has a bracket 4 adapted to receive and hold streamers 6 used to stabilize the fall of the container from low-flying aircraft.

Streamers 6 may be replaced by a solid piece of cloth, rubber or plastic which produces a stabilizing effect during the fall. The use of mechanical stabilizers such as a propeller rotating freely on the end of a shaft protruding from the center of the disc at right angles to the plane of the disc would be possible.

A flexible rubber container similar to the device described but without the streamer was constructed. Upon being dropped from an airplane at an altitude of 500 feet, the container drifted about twenty-five yards from the line of flight during fall. The same container dropped from an altitude of 1,000 feet drifted about yards from the line of flight during fall. However, when streamers were added, there was no appreciable drift from the line of flight when the container was dropped from the said altitudes. Thus, the use of the stabilizer, as disclosed in this invention, has resulted in a great improvement in the operation of the droppable container.

Best results are achieved if the streamers are attached to the hollow disc-shaped body at a point on the center axis of the disc. The streamers must be long enough to stabilize the disc during fall. Half inch diameter rope in lengths from 3 to 10 feet long have been found satisfactory for containers of 5 gallon capacity. Longer lengths of streamer are too cumbersome to handle although good stabilization in drop is attained, while shorter lengths do not give a stabilizing effect. Larger containers will probably require more and perhaps longer streamers, but may be easily determined by trial.

Although there has been described only multiple streamers, it is well understood, of course, that the use of a single rubber, clothor plastic streamer of sufficient area would give a suitable stabilizing effect. Other variations and modifications of the invention will be apparent from the disclosure and from the claim as set out.

What is claimed is:

In a disc-shaped container of the type subjected to free fall and resulting impact, a hollow body, with flexible walls and having filling means in one wall, carrying means attached to said body, and a stabilizer projecting from said body at a point on the surface of said body axial said disc, said stabilizer comprising at least one flexible streamer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 670,878 Hogan Mar. 26', 1901 685,894 Williams Nov. 5, 1901 1,126,601 Whitemarsh Jan. 26, 1915 2,072,225 Slater Mar. 2, 1937 2,093,443 Heintz Sept. 21, 1937 2,370,150 Dircksen Feb. 27, 1945 2,423,940 Krupp July 15, 1947 2,430,905 Bradley Nov. 18, 1947 

